Time for Jews to Behave Like Madmen, Rabbi Says

Rabbi David Druckman tells nationalist awakening meeting the Arabs 'used to tremble before us,' but times have changed.

By Gil Ronen

First Publish: 8/31/2010, 7:29 PM / Last Update: 8/31/2010, 7:23 PM

Our Land of Israel

Words of nationalist awakening were uttered at a meeting of political and spiritual leaders sponsored by the Our Land of Israel group in Nazareth Illit (Upper Nazareth) Tuesday.

Rabbi David Druckman, the Rabbi of Kiryat Motzkin, called on Jews to change their attitude and “act resolutely against those who plot to annihilate us.”

"In today's situation,” he said, “we should behave like madmen in order to win. We have no other choice.” In the past, Rabbi Druckman said, “the Arabs trembled before us.” However, when Israel began to give in to the Arabs, the situation was reversed.

The city was established as a Jewish neighbor of predominantly Arab Nazareth but in recent years “Arabs have conquered many sections of the city,” organizers of the event said in an e-mail communication. Nazareth Illit's chief rabbi, Rabbi Yeshayahu Herzl, said that while the Jews have nothing against the other nations, “the Holy Torah promises that the Land of Israel belongs to the Nation of Israel and G-d forbid that we forfeit it to strangers.”

Baruch Marzel of Hevron spoke of the battles that were waged in Nazareth Illit 30 years ago in order to make it a Jewish city. MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) gave a fiery speech in which he described a national situation in which the government is carrying out a “clearance sale” of Israel and its cities face real danger.